by Zachary Harmuth
A team of experts from an independent, non-profit organization finished a floodplain evaluation of land in Franklin, and gave the city a list of recommendations for development of it.
Five members of the American Planning Association’s Community Planning Assistance Teams program, working with the city, state, residents and local business leaders presented to Franklin a list of its conclusions.
The group made its recommendations by trying to find the optimal balance between future economic development and risks posed by building on the floodplain.
Some overall recommendations include:
- Prohibit development of any kind in select areas, while limiting it in others
- Retain/enforce more strictly city codes requiring elevation of non-residential buildings, while enacting codes that require elevation of old and new residential buildings
- Develop a comprehensive urban design strategy to position 5th Avenue as a gateway to downtown
The study covered 94 acres of flood plain, which included the Hill Property (west of 5th Avenue, north) other properties west of 5th Avenue but south of Mount Hope Road; and the Bicentennial Park Area (and east of 5th Avenue, south of Margin Street). The group’s conclusions reflect the varying conditions and challenges amongst the various parcels.
While there are strong, differing opinions on how the areas should be used, a statement by the group said that those differences “while entrenched, are not unbridgeable.”
The APACPAT program helps communities with limited planning resources, in linking up professional planners with communities in need of their certain expertise. The planners who participated in what was called the Franklin Community Planning Assistance Team were team leader Richard Roths, a semi-retired principal planner with the URS Corporation; Kimberly Burton, assistant professor at Ohio State University; Gail Henrikson, director of planning and zoning for the City of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; and Marc Yeber, planning commissioner, City of West Hollywood, Calif.
You can read a PDF of the full report here.
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